The watch industry is continuously seeking to improve the durability of watch bands. Originally, watch bands were formed from leather or fabric. While these materials were relatively flexible and comfortable, bands made from these materials were not very durable. Exposure to water and continuous wear, for example, will quickly degrade leather and fabric watch bands. To address these deficiencies, some watch makers have created watch bands out of metal links. While metal link watch bands are more resilient than leather and fabric watch bands, they are relatively heavy and expensive.
Recently, more rugged sport watches have become popular, particularly for various activities such as running, boating, diving, and climbing. In order to keep the cost of these watches low while still providing an environment-resistant band, some watch makers have begun using watch bands formed from plastic or rubber. As shown in FIG. 1, this type of band 101 will typically have an attachment portion 103. The attachment portion 103 defines a springbar passage 105 for receiving a springbar (not shown). As known in the art, a springbar has a hollow cylinder containing two pins at either end. The pins are forced outward by a spring within the cylinder.
To attach the band to a watch, a springbar is inserted into the springbar passage 105, and the pins are pressed into the hollow cylinder. With the pins thus compressed, the attachment portion 103 is inserted between two lugs of a watch casing. Each lug contains a recess for receiving a pin. Accordingly, when the attachment portion 103 is positioned so that the springbar is aligned with the lug recesses, the spring in the springbar forces the pins into the lug recesses to secure the attachment portion 103 between the lugs.
This conventional arrangement securely attaches the watch band to the lugs of the watch casing. With this arrangement, however, the springbar passage 105 is typically formed very close to the end 107 of the attachment portion, as shown in FIG. 1. If the springbar passage 105 is formed toward the center of the attachment portion 103, then the attachment portion 103 will not be able to rotate freely about the springbar, making the band stiff and uncomfortable. When the springbar passage 105 is formed near the end 107 of the attachment portion 103, however, the relatively thin wall of material between the springbar passage 105 and the end 107 of the attachment portion 103 is prone to tearing. If this thin wall of material does tear, the springbar cannot hold the attachment portion 103 between the watch lugs.